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Rainbow milk
Category:Developed for first grade Rainbow Milk Student worthiness Tested and approved. It's a fun activity and a great learning experience! Primary biological content area covered Content covered: This activity explores the sense of sight, nutritional needs, and the importance of milk and dairy in our diet. In addition to the biological possibilities, educators can: -Discuss color mixing. -Discuss surface tension and what happens when it is broken. This can be related to plants and animals that live on the surface tension of bodies of water. Students can use their knowledge to figure out what happens to these plants and animals when pollutants break the tension. *'Note:' Although this is a simple activity, there are several concepts that can be addressed along with it. It can cover a variety of topics in any curriculum over an array of grades, depending on the depth of concepts covered... not to mention, the fact that it's really cool. Materials *Food Coloring (red, blue, yellow) *Liquid Dish Detergent *1 Gallon of Skim Milk (or enough to cover the groups of students doing the activity. Note: whole milk does not produce the desired result) *Paper bowls (enough for however many groups are going to perform the experiment) *Paper, or pre-made observation sheets *Markers, Crayons, or Colored Pencils Handouts *Observation sheet (Here, students will record their hypotheses, and record observations before and after food coloring and liquid dish detergent is added to the milk.) *A copy of The Food Guide Pyramid (Figure 2.) *Copies of a color-wheel if planning on addressing color mixing. (Figure 1. Description of activity Students will actively mix three colors of food coloring with dish liquid detergent in a bowl of milk. They will hypothesize, and then observe the effects and record their findings. Students will also discuss the sense of sight, and the importance of milk and dairy to good health. Lesson plan 1. Ask students to think about what colors are present in a rainbow, have them share their answers by asking for volunteers. 2. Next, ask students how they know that these colors are in a rainbow. Most likely, at least one will say they know because they've seen them before. Use this opportunity to address the importance of the sense of sight, and to talk about what individuals do if their sight is impaired. 3. Now ask the students why milk is important for them. Show them The Food Guide Pyramid and talk about what it means. Discuss how milk and dairy contain calcium which helps promote the growth of strong bones and teeth. Now, explain that the activity they are about to complete will involve milk, and the colors of the rainbow (colors that they will be able to see because of their sense of sight). 4. *Perform the activity* a.Give each small group of students a bowl containing milk. b.Next have the students add several drops of blue food coloring, yellow food coloring, and red food coloring equally spaced around the bowl. The colors should be equal distances from each other, so each color should be placed about 1/3 of the way around the outer rim of the milk. Ask students to make predictions as to what will happen when the dish soap comes into contact with the food coloring; have them write their hypotheses down on their observation sheets. c.Add a little bit of dish soap to the center of the milk. d.Have students watch the colors carefully. e. Once the mixture has settled (after about 5 minutes),have students make and record any observations regarding what has taken place to the milk and colors by drawing what they see on their observation sheets. 5. Discuss the results and final comments with students. 7. Have students help clean up, and have them help pack up a box for the students who were unable to make the lab that day. Potential pitfalls The milk may not mix well with the elements provided. For example, the type of milk you use may not mix with the food coloring or dish liquid detergent to make a rainbow. Math connections Addition: Students can count the number of food coloring drops that they use for each color. They can then calculate the total number of drops of food coloring used in their experiment. Literature connections A rainbow all around me by Sandra L. Pinkney The Food Pyramid by Janine Scott From the Rookie Read About Science series: "All the Colors of the Rainbow" by Allan Fowler Connections to educational standards Predicting and Hypothesizing S1-2:2 Students demonstrate their understanding of predicting and hypothesizing by... •Predicting a logical outcome to a situation, using prior knowledge, experience and/or evidence. Explaining reasons for that prediction. Conducting Experiments- S1-2:4 Students demonstrate their ability to conduct experiments by… •Referring to and following a simple plan for an investigation. AND •Describing observations using senses rather than feelings (e.g., The snail has a hard shell with wavy, brown lines, rather than the snail is awesome). Next steps The students can take this experiment a step further by thinking of other elements that they could mix with the milk, and then they could test the productivity of those elements by mixing them in with the milk and seeing if they have the same effects. Citations and links Definition of rainbow: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Risfor.shtml) Vermont State Standards: http://education.vermont.gov/new/html/pubs/framework.html Source of idea: http://www.kidzone.ws/science/rainbow.htm